February 6, 2009
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Year of the Ox!
According to a semi-credible internet source, “it looks like we’ve got honest, candid and open natured year ahead. As you might guess, coming 2009 year of the earth Ox is dependable, calm and modest.”
Fun Ox Fact: Born in 1961, Barack Obama is a Metal Ox and is starting his presidency in an Earth Ox year. My semi-credible internet sources indicates that the Ox is all about prosperity through fortitude and hard work. Take that, recession!
Grain of Salt: George W. Bush is a Fire Dog. Supposedly, Fire Dogs are “true leaders,” full of sexual charm and charisma. Say nothing of his craptastic leadership, I aways thought Bush was about as sexy as genital warts, but perhaps that’s just me.
Painful Admission: I share a Chinese Zodiac sign with Bush. I’m a Water Dog. Supposedly, I “prefer being in the pack rather than being the pack’s leader.” I am “faithful, affectionate, flexible and relaxed.” While I am very faithful–and I hope I seem as affectionate as I feel–I don’t know if I would call myself flexible or relaxed. These are more goals I actively work towards rather than natural, inborn traits. Also, I feel a strong pull towards leadership. Most of the time, I’m designated by groups to be the leader, without having asked for the role. Perhaps my life would be different in this regard if I wasn’t 6-feet tall. Mainly, I’m just jealous because Shaun has the best Zodiac sign of all. He’s an Earth Goat and for the most part, he acts very Goat-like. Smart, creative, calm.
The Parade!
Last Sunday, Shaun and I went to Chinatown for the Chinese New Year Parade. This is one of my favorite things to do in Chicago and has become something of an annual tradition of us. The parade is adorably miniscule and the crowds are relatively small. Banners are hand-painted and flown with pride. Bagpipers burst in apropos, lest Chicagoans forget they are in an Irish town even for one moment. Best of all, there are the Lion Dancers and the Dragon. Something about the fixed, dead-eyed stare of the masks in tandem with the energetic motion of the dancers makes me laugh; they’re like zombies who can’t decide whether to be angry or cheerful.Pictures!
Handmade Ox Banner.
Mr. Lion.
Mr. Dragon.
Traditional Chinese Instruments.
IRISH! IRISH! IRISH!
Chinese Food.
Hello, fellow parade-watchers!
Party People.Dim Sum
After the parade, we went to Three Happiness for Dim Sum. Three out of six items ordered were sort of delicious, which is good odds when it comes to Dim Sum. For those of you who don’t have a Chinatown near you, Dim Sum is like going out to tapas, Chinese-style. Typically, carts pass by with weird items on them and you point at which you want. Most of them are weird wraps and rolls and gooey-strange things. Basically, you don’t know what you’re gonna get unless you are a Chinese person or a Dum Sum fanatic and that is just part of the fun. My favorite treat of the day–aside from my usual favorite Potstickers–was a slightly sweet jello salad with water chestnuts and turnips. The grossest thing we ordered was something called a Beef Fun Roll. While not inedible, the Beef Fun Roll really has a better name than it deserves.In Other News…
I’ve not been doing much blogging–or writing in general, really–because I’ve been doing a lot of reading. I’m back to Gravity’s Rainbow after a two month break and loving it. For those of you who’ve read this one, you know how intense of a read this is. Seriously, this book is taking over my life and I find myself getting upset when I have to do other things, like work and brush my teeth. Also, I’ve jut joined a book club at work and we’re reading one of my favorites, For Whom The Bell Tolls (this book made me go to Spain and I love re-reading it). Shaun also reviewed and interviewed a writer who was among the most impressive contemporary writers I read in 2008, Colson Whitehead. We have an advance review copy of his book, Sag Harbor (you might remember an expert of this was in the New Yorker Winter Fiction issue, although I think it was called The Gangsters, or something like that). I keep picking up Sag Harbor and reading, even though I wanted to wait until I had my book-plate clear before starting. He’s just too good!
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What is your Chinese Zodiac Sign? Do you find you have much in common with it? And what are you reading, anyway?
Comments (9)
Dim sum is great fun. It’s like a combination of brunch and Chinese food and a lottery. You just kind of don’t know what you’re going to get.I’m a year of the horse person. I don’t know that I share any attributes with horses. We’re both mammals, I guess.
I’m a Metal Rooster which means I appear in many midwest kitchens and dining rooms. It’s rather surprising how opposite I am of how the rooster is described. “such character traits as confidence, pompousness and motivation…extremely sociable and prefer being the center of attention, always bragging about themselves and their accomplishments” and “They’re extremely organized individuals as evidenced by the fact that their homes are always neat.” Metal roosters in particular have big egos and are aggressive. Passive-aggressive, maybe. However, it also says roosters can be blunt, which I’m told I can be sometimes, but only when the situation calls for it. It also says I’m honest, which is true because I’m a horrible liar. I’ve also been told that I’m not very Gemini-ish, though I often feel like I’m two people constantly battling myself. Funny Chinese Zodiac story: When I was, oh, probably about 10 or 12, I went with my family to a Chinese restaurant where they had the fun zodiac placemats. We were having our obligatory conversation about the signs and I spoke up to announce my animal. Unfortunately, this placemat used the rooster’s other common name. I was littest and normally a quiet child, but I decided to be loud at this moment in my life and declare “I’m a cock!”I’m slogging through the middle of Moby Dick right now. I think I just got to the part where it picks up again. Coincidentally, one of my favorite professors in college insisted that Moby Dick was the best book of the 19th century and Gravity’s Rainbow was the best of the 20th.
I’m an earth horsey. Neh! Seriously, though, the description is relatively close for a horoscope. I’m reading “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft” by Stephen King. Seriously. It’s not bad. King uses profanity a lot.
For me, this one is even more accurate:http://www.gotohoroscope.com/chinese-zodiac-horse.htmlIt even says my element is FIRE, my color is RED, and my direction is SOUTH. Totally.
@photobee22 - When I think of a total pushy bragger, I think of you, Beth.
@BawlmerBoy - Man, the horse is full of awesome.
I am either a goat or a monkey. Sources disagree as the year changed right around my birthday in 68. So who knows. Last I looked at the actual dates of the change it seemed like monkey was correct but I just checked another source and it said goat. Either way it is nice to know the year will be candid and honest.You estimation of GWB’s appeal is spot on IMO.How cool is it that you can go see such a parade in your own town? Awesome.
The parade was fun!
it was my first time going. Lame I know, considering I’ve lived here my whole damn life. I was actually suppose to be in it once. With my chinese class in high school. I couldn’t go 
I think by far the best part had to be the beer “float.” And by float I mean the car that drove by with a six pack on top. We took our cousin who was visiting. 
We had dim sum at the phoenix. It was amazing. .
oh I forgot to write that I am a tiger. rarr!I don’t know if I’m a fire tiger, water tiger, party tiger or crouching tiger, but I know somewhere that being a tiger automatically makes me fully badass and totally awesome. seriously, ancient chinese wisdom hitting the nail right on the head.